Greckles
Greckles the Kenku Rogue "Everyone can die, and it doesn't have to be in combat." ~Greckles Greckles is a kenku rogue, a wandering soul, and core member of The Unexpectables. Greckles tends to carry himself with caution, being certain to approach adversary with stealth, or avoiding it all together. A master of mimicry, darts, and ninja-like dashing, you're sure to see a blur of blue before the strike of a blade, if you see anything at all. Greckles tends to keep to himself, and frequently stays apart from the group and moves in stealth when they are traveling. He keeps a similar social distance, appearing generally friendly but with a certain sense of aloofness. Underneath the exterior there is a deep longing for his homeland. Greckles reasons for wandering are unclear, but the fact he misses his culture is almost undeniable. Evidence for such includes his few open expressions of joy and reverence when reconnecting with aspects of his culture, from the simple joy of an Eastern delicacy to the meticulous care he takes when handling Eastern crafts. What little is known of Greckles is that he was apparently left by his family and for a time taken in by the Tengu Clan. He is originally from Tengamishima the main island where the capital of the Eastern Isles is located. He appears to be searching for a female peacock kenku by the name of "Yukiko" who is affected by the "white blessing" which is an Eastern Isles term for albinism. His exact relationship with her isn't known, but seems to be positive as he took great pains to recover a fan she left in Alivast and he has stated that he "...has his own love to look forward to." Greckles recently was selected by Aila to be a judge for a cooking competition that pitted the Sweet Dragon's chef, Tai Borpington, against the chef at his new favorite restaurant, Mr. Bwakkaw. In his travels he has chosen the Rogue Arcane Trickster class archetype. This branch of Rogue training grants the user magical means to further enhance their stealth and Rogue tactics. Relationships Task "I love how you think, my diminutive friend." Greckles has stated several times that he trusts Task more than the rest of the group. Greckles was disappointed in himself that he let Task down by lying to him. They later resolved their conflict after Greckles gave Task his space and apologized. They have become close friends since then, listening to each-others counsel during trying times and have grown closer through their shared love of harvesting natural materials from plants and creatures they have slain. Borky "Borky what did you do?!" Greckles and Borky often butt heads although they tolerate each other. Greckles is the usually the first one to point out flaws in some of Borky's less thought out plans as well as what he feels is an unjust grudge Borky seems to hold for being occasionally hit by a poorly aimed dart. Once when Borky took a kunai from him, Greckles advised him that the item was all he had left from 'the only family that ever gave a damn" about him and warned Borky to never touch it again. Since then, their friendship has strengthened but is frequently strained when Borky's antics make Greckles angry. Panic Grimtongue "You've been the only one to try to reach out to me like this." Greckles and Panic are good friends, Greckles himself even going so far as to slap the tiefling Tiengo when he attempted to grab Panic and also stating out of character that after creating a yukata for Greckles to wear for the Alivast festival that Panic is "up there" likely referring to friendly relationships. Greckles was also mortified at the sight of Panic getting hit by the lightning javelin instantly shouting and screaming at Borky when he realized what happened. Greckles showed his appreciation for Panic's friendship by paying the cost of an Ultimate Deluxe room and four escorts for Panic and later apologizing to panic after he was almost killed in a dangerous battle, Greckles blaming himself for Panic's injuries due to 'not pulling his own weight'. Solly "She reminded me of me. Growing up lost, trying to fit in somewhere, trying to go somewhere that would be impossible to go back to." Greckles feels sympathy for Solly, seeming to identify some with her wish to have a simple life rather than feeling forced into adventuring. After revealing to Greckles that she was an aasimar in hiding, Greckles offered to let her stay in The Unexpectables' guildhall to keep her safe. However, Solly eventually left the guildhall due to concerns of being discovered and loss of her divine powers. Greckles wanted to help Solly further, but given new information coming to light regarding the nature of Aasimar, how to do was unclear. Unfortunately, during the events of the Eclipse, Greckles was party to delivering Solly to Brorc unconscious and bound in chains. Since then, Solly has had no contact with the group other than a single letter she sent. At the Harvest Festifal, Greckles served as a judge at Aila Balton's request due to Hammergnar's unnanounced absence. He admitted to her that he may be harboring romantic feelings for Solly, but is unsure how to go about them. Greckles and Solly developed a trust ritual with one another, where each plucked a feather from their helm or body respectively and exchanged the feathers. Solly sent him her first work in stained glass - a framed panel depicting a blue feather and a yellow feather. When having tea with Solly at Avan's Cup, Greckles learns that Solly may be forced to marry for the sake of political alliance and the idea enrages him. Greckles has stated that he has many things in common with Solly. Greckles later met up with Solly at The Silver King's ball. After a brief lesson on the waltz from Remy, Greckles shared a dance with Solly which he flourished with illusory birds and fog. Despite it being his first waltz, it went very well. Brorc Bronze-Fang Initially, Brorc had a positive relationship with Greckles and requested help from the Unexpectables for matters involving Alivast. After they defeated Dullmar he rewarded Greckles the Wind Fan once owned by Yukiko having purchased it with his own personal funds. However, when Brorc discovered Greckles witheld Solly's location from him, their relationship became damaged. Brorc sees Greckles as betraying his trust, and Greckles makes no qualms accusing Brorc of racism against Kenku and police brutality. When Solly invites everyone to tea, it greatly smoothed over the divide between Greckles and Brorc. While they still may not see eye-to eye on many issues, Greckles grows in understanding of Brorc's situation and pressures, and even goes as far to admit to Charlie that he won't stand in the way if Brorc wishes to pursue a relationship with Solly. Remy Remy and Greckles built a close companionship during their travels, and though they regularly teased each other, they also confided in each other emotionally. When bidding farewell to the Unexpectables, Remy gave Greckles a (literal) peck on the beak after telling Panic to go easy with his seductive nature, saying, "...Leave some for the rest of us, especially this one." This may have been another bit of friendly teasing, or it may have been legitimate affection. He left the scene without further explanation. Greckles 'poofed' a little bit, a response equivalent to blushing. Greckles and Remy both attended the Silver King's ball and spent time together despite heckling from Panic regarding the kiss. Remy taught Greckles how to waltz so he could dance with Solly. After, Greckles shared a dance with Remy as well. He also told Remy about Mr. Bwakkaw's restaurant and invited him out to lunch. When Remy learned that Greckles stole an entire bowl of punch, he pleaded to Remy to let him keep it because he needed to get in Helga's good graces. Hassrad Greckles is distrusting of Hassrad and his snakes, and fears that Hassrad is going to sell information he steals from them to their enemies. He disagrees with Task on how they should handle him and how much he can be relied on. Hassrad has done little to ease Greckles' worries, admitting that he will sell their information should somebody offer the right price. Despite this, Greckles has no issues using the Yuan-Ti to provide information. When Meryl's family friend Stanley was killed by an Ice Hag, Greckles willingly chose to sacrifice some of his body's resilience to the Quetzalqueen so Hassrad could ressurect him. He was able to converse with one of Hassrad's snakes afterward. Aila Balton Upon meeting Aila during the Anniversary Festival, Greckles was immediately uneasy to the point of being "almost horrified." However, after learning her purpose and ability to see the "Kami", this transformed into respect. He offered Lady Aila a courteous bow, and recieved a compliment on his blue feathers in return. After learning Aila was married, he asked about Aila's husband, and she told him about Balfor and his clergy. The two next met during the Harvest Festival. The Unexpectables attended the cooking competition to watch Tai Borpington compete but the judges were unable to begin due to Hammergnar's unexplained absence. Upon seeing him in the crowd, Aila chose Greckles to act as a substitute judge. Aila inquired as to why Greckles seemed to be afraid of her. Greckles ensured her that was not actually the case; rather, her aloof and quiet nature reminded him of Daimyo and Shogun from the Eastern Isles, and he was simply showing her proper respect. As the two spoke, the topic eventually changed to that of Solly, and Greckles told Aila he may have romantic feelings for her. Aila said that it wasn't likely for them to work out and that Greckles shouldn't get his hopes up. After the competition concluded, Greckles asked Aila why she rated every dish with a Zero. Aila explained she didn't actually know what the cards were for and that she was simply trying to order the next meal. Marguerite Greckles saw Marguerite being attacked on her way home from school by Eltmur Royalists who were seeking sacrificial victims to aid in their scheme to overthrow the Silver King. Greckles was ambushed from behind and ended up in a cage with the schoolgirl who cared for the badly beaten bird while he was unconscious. The Silver King The Silver King spoke with Greckles at the ball held for him in the Middle Clergy District. During their chat, the Silver King revealed he hadn't met any Kenku in a long, long time and that he had never been to the Eastern Isles. The interaction prompted The Silver King to request Redmond Bell for a history book on the region. The Silver King also noticed Greckles stealthing around the ballroom and acknowledged his presence. Shrub Buddy While on the road back to Alivast from Balfor Balton's war camp, the group encountered a mysterious specie of moving, sentient bushes. One of them took a liking to Greckles and attached itself to his back temporarily, assisting in his stealth temporarily. When the Unexpectables were dismantling Monster's Culling's hold on Lebreaus Village, Task discovered a cage imprisoning Shrub Buddy who had managed to singlehandedly kill a number of the hunters. It reattached itself to Greckles after he freed it from its cage. Shrub Buddy vanished after Anje knocked out Greckles with a magic attack, but he later returned and helped him recover the Scary Acid Dagger of Stab. It decided to stay near the rolling hills rather than come to Alivast with Greckles. Trivia * SkyBlueShinx has composed a theme for Greckles entitled Tengu, a title suggested by RoSo_06 when SkyBlueShinx asked the Discord community for suggestions of what to name the theme. * When using spells from his Arcane Trickster Archtype, Greckles uses Hand Signs similar to those seen in Naruto. * Greckles prefers to wield the Scary Acid Dagger of Stab, a dagger made from the mandible of an ankheg which was crafted by Wymark. This weapon has been repeatedly fumbled and spent many battles on the ground. * While in between sessions 4 and 5, Gaijin Goombah and Chris Zito (the players of Greckles and Task) were at a pizza place, where Chris wanted to pay for Gaijin. Gaijin then used the Whistle of the Scale Guard as collateral to pay for the pizza to the surprise of Chris. * Greckles was once cursed by a druid to have flower nipples. He ripped both of them out and gave one of them to a little girl. The other was simply tossed out when no one was looking. * Greckles holds onto one of Borky's teeth which was broken off. It is one of his smaller teeth, not a tusk. * When exposed to the Dog Zone, Greckles is transformed into a Shikoku Inu, a Japanese breed of Dog native to Shikoku island. * Greckles will 'poof' when he's excited by fluffing out his feathers. He's done this when a magic item or other treasure catches his eye, when blushing, or when sexually excited. * Gaijin really wants Greckles to have teeth, but Monty disagrees. * Greckles is lactose intolerant, which serves as his main reason for disagreeing with installing Borky's cheesery. However he was shown eating ice cream with no notable ill effects in Chapter 12. * Greckles is stockier than the other members of the Unexpectables, and is considered by Gaijin Goombah to be of a "thicc" body type. * Greckles once attacked one of Meryl's brooms, mistaking it for one of Hassrad's snakes. * When teaching at Eve's Meadow Academy, he wore his tie around his head like a headband. * Greckles is responsible for the unfortunate death of Hugh Mann, albeit accidentally. * Greckles has considered getting beak reduction surgery in the past. It is unknown who would provide this service or how it would be accomplished, however. * Greckles has been swallowed whole by a banderhobb, a teethox, and very nearly by a mimic. * Greckles is a parseltongue. * When he pulled out his flute in the Musical Menagerie he heard the sound of a similar flute being played along with drums that reminded him of his homeland and saw flashes of light in the distance. It is uncertain whether this was real, an illusion, or a vision. * Greckles stole the entire punch bowl from the snack table at the Silver King's Ball. * Greckles was transformed into a White-Bellied Green Pigeon by Taylor. He was finally able to fly. * When either jumping into or getting into water a common joke is that Greckles changes into a duck form. * Greckles is now in possession of a fine set of thieves tools marked with the symbol of Intiago. Gallery Med.png|Official Greckles art by @StarPyrate Smiling Greckles fanart by @Gray Beast1995.jpg|Gaijin Goombah really wants Greckles to have teeth, Monty disagrees. Greckles fan art by @Graybeast_1995 greckles_wallpaper_by_yggdrassal-dbqwuen.jpg|Greckles fan art by @Yggdrassal Greckles fan art by JojieSempai 18.jpg|Greckles fan art by JojieSempai_18 Greckles Saving Solly from Stillhavity fan art by @RoSohryu.jpg|Greckles Saving Solly from Stillhavity fan art by @RoSohryu Shutter Shades Greckles fan art by @JojieSenpai 18.jpg|Shutter Shades Greckles fan art by @JojieSenpai_18 Greckles fan art by @nutcaseart.jpg|Greckles fan art by @nutcaseart Greckles fan art by @__Mr_Smart__.jpg|Greckles fan art by @__Mr_Smart__ Greckles fan art by @SirMalervik.jpg|Greckles fan art by @SirMalervik Greckles fan art by @Quad Draft.jpg|Grecles fan art by @Quad_Draft Category:Player Characters Category:Kenku Characters Category:Rogue Characters Category:Eaten Characters